The Prodigal Uchiha
by twodeadboysx3
Summary: Legend has it, that after the Prodigal Uchiha was mysteriously murdered by an assailant known only as Harbinger, his son left to Konoha, training under the tutelage of heroic shinobi, Hatake Kakashi. Where the Copy Ninja went wrong with him is a mystery in and of itself, some say he joined Orochimaru to save his cousin, Sasuke, others think it's the Curse of the Uchiha. A/U R


**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters or locations described in this story, just the ones I made up. **

* * *

Chapter 1:

Reality was the only thing he found when his eyes opened, a night of wild dreams played back to him in his subconscious like a collections of movies with him cast as the victim. He frowned at the thoughts. He was no victim, he was a product, hand crafted by his heritage and clansmen, a product of fear, of hatred, of paranoia, of absolute genius. A small sigh escaped his dry lips, and in inhale of the stale, earthy air brought his mind out of nostalgia. His mind needed to be here, and now, where it belonged, he couldn't miss a step, a single slip up and his life was the price to pay. For once in his entire sixteen years of living, the past three had been what he was truly called to do, he meant something now, he was important, if not to the people of his village on the outside, he was important to their safety and their security. They would come to realize this soon enough, after his plans entered the final stage, he would be not just a hero in Konoha, but a world renowned hero. The man who rid the world Orochimaru.

Yes, he was indeed important.

He gazed up at the ceiling above him, the only light he received was the dim fixtures outside of his room beaming modestly through the cracks in the door. He didn't need light to see the patterns in the ceiling, his crimson eyes could see quite well in this low light. They spun madly as the slight vibration of an approaching visitor's footsteps reached his heightened, shinobi senses.

The door creaked open, and the dim light flooded the room. "Lord Orochimaru wants to see you."

His red eyes narrowed suspiciously. It was an odd time to be summoned.

"There's been a change of plans." The visitor elaborated. "Akatsuki has kidnapped the Kazekage, they are moving quickly, and they have strayed too close to our location."

The man sat in silent contemplation. The Kazekage, Subaku no Gaara...

* * *

"_You come near them again with any intent to hurt them, I won't hold back. I will kill you!" _

_"You have my word... I will strive with all of my being to be as good of a Jinchuuriki as Naruto is. I will be Kazekage" _

* * *

Attachments were a hindrance in his current situation, he couldn't let his friendship for the Kazekage show, or it may be his last mistake. "It's not my problem." He finally said in a low, crisp voice.

The intruder huffed indignantly.

"Orochimaru-sama has made it your problem." He replied almost angrily.

He nearly rolled his eyes. He wasn't here for Orochimaru's bidding, and he made that very clear during his stay.

A nearly silent thud was heard right on the door that was next to the visitor's head. The visitor flinched, turning toward the disturbance only to see a kunai knife, still vibrating from the impact, lodged in the door just inches away from his face. The man smirked from the shadows, slowly, and deliberately standing up to face his intruder, strolling passed him with no care in the world. His long, spiky hair came into view, bangs framing his face, followed by his pitch black, wide sleeved shirt that hung surreptitiously open in the front to display his defined pectorals and abs, held together only by a thick, white sash that hung lazily down the side of his right leg all the way down to his knee that was covered by black pants, bandages wrapped up his shins where the sash stopped. His black shirt was embroidered with white stitchings on the hems, and his hair covered the white and grey symbol just below the small of his back, the symbol meant more to him than anything in this shady underground hideout, it was a symbol of the elite, the symbol of warriors, honorable and dangerous. The Uchiha Clan symbol.

He glared at the intruder, his red Sharingan eyes boring into the man's skull with a clear look of disdain for this weakling, his eyes making the intruder uneasy, and very worried. His lips curved down in a subtle frown, the Uchiha weren't known to make too many other facial expressions outside of battle. No words needed to be spoken for the Uchiha to make his point, his face said it all. He could kill this intruder with simply a look if he wanted to, and said visitor knew it. "Lead the way, Kabuto." His voice was laced with impish, nearly mocking reverberations that made the intruder, Kabuto, very angry.

For what he was worth, Kabuto bit his anger back, and turned to lead the Uchiha to Orochimaru.

* * *

_"And what might you have that I, Orochimaru-sama wants? A Sharingan? You, boy, are nothing special, Sasuke is the Clan heir, power is in his very blood." _

_A small smile crossed the boy's lips before he responded. "It seems you don't truly know everything." He commented dryly. "I am an Uchiha, same as Sasuke. He and I share the same blood, the same heritage, and the same family, only, we don't share the same eyes. My eyes are my father's, and my father's name was Uchiha Souran." _

* * *

"The Kazekage has been kidnapped."

The Uchiha held a reply, this was a test, just like most of the things Orochimaru did. He wanted to test loyalty, to see if he had truly given up his former life for the destruction of the Senju.

"If he were to die..." Orochimaru started.

"So be it." Orochimaru gave his charge a very amused glance.

"The balance of power would be shifted if the Kazekage were to die." Orochimaru continued. A sickly cough followed by a malicious chuckle snaked it's way out of the Sannin's throat. "It would be very interesting to see how my former associates would react to this."

"Perhaps we should kill him."

The Uchiha turned his head to the entrance of the massive, makeshift throne room Orochimaru had constructed. His mood instantly darkened. The Ghost, Yurei, his only competition to gain complete access to Orochimaru's teachings, the other candidate for Orochimaru to absorb. His pure white mask was ominous to say the least, the air around him seemed controlled as he strode forward stiffly, as if he were going to be attacked at any moment. His black cloak clung closely to his body as if it were custom made to fit him and only him, hanging out of a complete chest and back plate of thin, black armor, leaving only the tattered, wispy coat tails to freely flow at his knees as he walked, showing only the front of his long, straight black pants, shins covered by a deep, black armor, the same armor that covered his forearms, hands, and chest over his cloak, stylized as if he were a demon from hell itself, leaving detailed inscriptions of a language forgotten all along the surface. A hood covered his head, tattered from it's use, and part of the same cloak that hung out of the complete chest armor. He was a symbol of fear itself, a ghost from the deepest depths of hell. Yurei. Who he really was, that was a mystery in and of itself.

"I have a feeling that Akatsuki will do that for us." Orochimaru answered.

Yurei stood beside the Uchiha, his attention on Orochimaru from behind that ominous mask of his.

"But, I have a feeling you'll be running into some old friends, Isau." The words sunk in for a drawn out moment, leaving Isau to reflect on just what he just heard. The Uchiha, Isau, turned his attention back to Orochimaru. "The Hokage has dispatched a team from Konoha to hunt down the Akatsuki members, and rescue the Kazekage."

Isau's arms folded in front of his chest. That meeting was sure to be interesting to say the least. They all thought he was a traitor, a wanted missing nin. He'd probably have to fight them. "Then they will die like the rest." Isau said in an even tone. He inwardly smirked at this turn of events, the final phases of his plan were coming together. Orochimaru's demise was nearly at hand.

"Good." The snake stood up, and walked right in between his two most prized warriors. "Then leave immediately."

* * *

_"I am the Ghost, Yurie." _

_Back then, the ghost was shorter, just as tall as Isau had been at that age, leaving him to assume he was a missing Chuunin, or perhaps Genin from a different village. His clothing wasn't nearly as elaborate, brandishing only a black shirt and pants covered by a long cloak, the same mask hiding his features. Isau ignored the ghost. For now, he was simply a rival, in the future, he'd be the prey. Isau couldn't let this Ghost to become a problem. He'd have to dispose of him if he was going to kill Orochimaru..._

* * *

"Akasuna no Sasori. He's destroyed entire villages before." Yurie commented dully, as if he wasn't impressed by the resume he was reading out of the Bingo Book.

Isau simply ignored it. He knew all about Sasori, or, at least until he disappeared into Akatsuki's ranks. He was sure that puppets wouldn't be a match.

The exit of the hideout revealed the dense forest that the two would have to travel through in order to reach their destination. It was nice to be out of the stuffy hideout or once. The cool breeze touched Isau's cheeks, smelling of the blooming shrubbery all around him. The sounds of animals going about their business reached his ears, and for a moment, he contemplated running. Leaving this stupid mission behind, returning to Konoha. He just wanted it to be how it used to be.

"The other one, Diedara, he's not one I've heard of." Yurei's voice snapped Isau back to reality, and emptiness suddenly returned. "He's from Yuni."

Isau frowned at the mention of that hidden village.

_"You're my love. I'll protect you with my dying breath."_ The words echoed in his mind, proving only to darken his mood.

"Let's move." His voice was more steely than it normally was, prompting the Ghost to close the Bingo Book and follow his comrade's lead, if only to keep his mood from souring further.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto raced as fast as his legs could carry him, hopping from one tree branch to the next, pumping chakra through his legs at an alarming rate. His team was behind him, only one was hard pressed to keep up, Sakura. She was Isau's replacement when he abandoned the Village. She wasn't a fighter, well, not really, she was an outstanding medic. It had saved the Team's life more than once.

Hatake Kakashi was right behind Naruto, a concerned look on the one eyed man's face at the situation presented in front of him, and behind him was Uchiha Sasuke, still bearing the same detached look of boredom, though, beneath the surface his nerves were on edge. Anything to do with Akatsuki meant a possible meeting with his brother.

Lady Chiyo was keeping up quite well, given her age and all.

"Naruto, slow down!" The pink haired Kunoichi whined, her face scrunched to show her tiring bodies effect. "There's no point in moving this fast if we don't have any energy to fight the Akatsuki when we get there!"

"She's right' y'know." Kakashi reinforced with a reserved yell. "We should probably take it down a notch."

"Or ten" Sasuke added irritably.

Naruto looked back at his Uchiha friend, a face splitting grin plastered. "What's wrong, teme, can't keep up with me anymore?" Naruto teased.

Sasuke huffed indignantly. "You're too overconfident, genin." He shot back with an eyebrow craned.

"Shut up, teme, just because I'm still a genin doesn't mean I can't kick your ass!" Naruto retorted.

Kakashi sighed. Two weeks since Naruto's return, three years of training, and he was still the same.

The group continued onward, this time at a slightly slower pace, much to the dismay of Naruto, who was practically brimming with anticipation to take a crack at these Akatsuki thugs. Kakashi took point with Naruto on his left and Sasuke at his right, the latter of the two watching carefully to the side of them, Sharingan activated, and spinning.

But then, something caught his eye, just north east of their position.

And it didn't escape the Copy Nin's notice. "Sasuke, do you see something?" Kakashi asked carefully.

Sasuke nodded slowly. "Its hard to make out what exactly it is, but two chakra signatures are closing in on us, and fast." He said, slowing down even more to further observe. Both signatures were large, comparable to his own.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "We need to move faster, they've probably already picked us up." He surmised.

The group conceded, and picked back up the pace from a brisk run to a full sprint. Sasuke squinted briefly, noticing that whoever they were, they would intercept Team Kakashi regardless. "It's no use." Sasuke stated. "They're moving much faster than us."

Kakashi cursed silently. There was no way that they could speed up any quicker without completely draining Sakura, and possibly Chiyo, and if this was Akatsuki after them, then no amount of speed would save them from confrontation. Two of Kakashi's fingers rose up in the air, pointing toward the direction of their interceptors. "Naruto, Sasuke, intercept them in the next clearing." Kakashi ordered, receiving a "Hai" from Naruto and a nod from Sasuke. "If at all possible, avoid conflict, we're going to need you two to be at full strength."

The group continued forward, quickly reaching the clearing in front of them with intense speed. The foliage in front of them cleared, and Kakashi instantly ordered a halt. It would seem as though the two signatures weren't the only thing they had to sorry about...

* * *

"There's the Konoha Shinobi." Yurei suddenly observed, almost out of nowhere.

Isau nodded. He'd already figured that out. Naruto's chakra pool was hard to miss with Sharingan, even from their distance. "I'll handle them." Isau spoke, in a low, dangerous voice.

"Right." Yurie answered skeptically. 3

The air around Isau suddenly distorted, and In Isau's open palm, a mask appeared. It was smooth and white, three ovals surrounding the eye holes, and a third set of three ovals in the center of the mask, right where a third eye would go. He quickly put it on. Isau had earned the name Mukei, standing for untouchable. His mask was a symbol for who he was now. It did more for his reputation than it did actually conceal him, most high ranking Shinobi knew that Mukei was Uchiha Isau. It was a symbol of his allegiance, and the Konoha Shinobi needed to see that the mask was who he was. At least for now...

"It seems as though they've stopped." Yurei said in his even voice.

Isau's eyes narrowed from behind his mask, observing the Konoha Shinobi suddenly come to a dead stop. "So they have. They've probably spotted us." He mentioned idly.

"How? I didn't sense any sensory type Shinobi with them." Yurei's tone implied disbelief at some of the knowledge Isau had already observed.

"There's an Uchiha amongst them." Isau answered. The Ghost nodded in understanding.

"I see..." Yurei commented, his interests slightly peaked. "A Jinchuuriki and an Uchiha. Sounds an awful lot like Team Kakashi of Konohagakure."

Isau repressed a sigh. "That's because it is." He revealed. "Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto, and two others that I don't recognize."

"Hatake Kakashi of the Sharingan eye..." Yurei pondered the meaning of this. The man was surely deadly. "And your two former team-mates. This should be... interesting to say the least."

"Don't tell me you have doubts, Yurei." Isau taunted lightly.

A light chuckle was heard from behind the Ghost's mask. "None at all. It's _your_ abilities I doubt." Yurei shot back, calm as ever.

Isau ignored his counterpart. Bickering would lead nowhere. "Do you have a plan, Uchiha?" Yurei asked.

Isau glared, and then nodded. "I'm Uchiha, of course I have a plan." He stated as a matter of factly. "Just follow my lead. Naruto will undoubtedly be our biggest problem, so I'll subdue him first, you deal with the Uchiha, and I'll take out the rest." Isau explained. "Don't kill them." His finger pointed threateningly at the Ghost.

"Still attached, I see." Yurei berated. Isau huffed.

"Hardly. I plan to use these particular Shinobi against Konoha once I decide to destroy it." Isau shot back, his arrogant calm always present.

"One man against a village. Seems undo able." Yurei responded skeptically. "If you succeed, maybe I'll recruit your help for destroying my own village."

Isau huffed."You'll be dead by then."

"We shall see."

* * *

"Uchiha Itachi..." Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously in the presence of his brother. This was it, what He'd been waiting for, the death of Itachi. So why did he hesitate?

"Sasuke." Itachi responded blandly and uninterested.

Sasuke's jaw set. After all these years, Itachi still treated him like he was nothing. He drew the chukoto strapped on his back, pointing it toward his wayward brother. "You die today." Sasuke's glare was hard, determined and most of all, deadly as his Sharingan eyes bled through his normal charcoal. Itachi held Sasuke's glare for a moment, why, Sasuke didn't know. Was he assessing him? Or was it a simple warning not to challenge him.

Itachi's eyes left Sasuke's. "Kakashi-san." Itachi spoke, his cold voice sending shivers down the entire groups backs. Intimidating was an understatement. "I'm afraid that I can't let you pass." Itachi stated.

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed before he reached his hand up and removed his head band from his Sharingan eye. "Naruto, Sasuke, cover me." He said in a low tone. They had to do this together if they were going to succeed. "Sakura, protect Lady Chiyo." Sakura nodded, and moved closer to her charge.

"I'll kick this party off!" Naruto exclaimed. With a poof of shadow clones, Naruto formed his signature jutsu in his hand and charged straight at the Akatsuki member. "Rasengan!"

"NARUTO WAIT!" Sasuke's warning fell on def ears, as he reached to grab the idiot, just barely missing his sleeve. Sasuke cursed and charged after Naruto, he couldn't take Itachi alone, there were probably a handful of people in the world that actually could.

Naruto charged the elder Uchiha, his open palm holding his signature jutsu. He rushed toward Itachi, and tossed his coiled arm in front of him, expecting to make contact, but instead, a black blur appeared right in his peripherals. His wrist was grabbed by the blur, the grip like a vice. "Raiton: Tenro" Naruto then realized that someone was in front of him, and before he could even react, a palm slammed into his chest, and he was sent hurdling backward, a dull ache right where the person hit him.

"Naruto!" Kakashi rushed forward to his pupil's aid, and caught him before hitting the ground. Black seals began to spread upward from Naruto's chest throughout his face, glowing a dull blue before settling into a black seal. Kakashi cursed. fuuinjutsu.

Suddenly another person appeared right in between Kakashi and Sasuke, and Kakashi's eyes narrowed dangerously at the easily recognizable armor. Yurie. Orochimaru's pet. The man stood with his back to Kakashi, eying Sasuke. If Yurei was here, then the other person was bound to be Mukei. Sure enough, Kakashi recognized the long, spiky hair. This wasn't good. Three presumably S ranked Missing Nin were all here at once, and the only backup he had was an angry Uchiha, a medic, and an old lady. Kakashi half expected Orochimaru to step out of the bushes.

Mukei's attention turned toward the Akatsuki member, who stood completely still throughout the brief ordeal, a testament to his skill as a shinobi. "Itachi." Mukei said coldly, his eyes closing into thin slits behind his mask.

"It's been a long time, Isau." Itachi replied.

Kakashi winced. He hadn't had time to clue Naruto in on what Isau had really been up to yet, he couldn't, he didn't have the heart to deny the blonde something he wanted to fix so badly. It was one of the first things Naruto had asked upon his return, if there was any news of his old friend, if he had "escaped" Orochimaru's clutches yet.

Said blonde looked up at Kakashi with an incredibly quizzical look on his face. "Did he just call that monster Isau?" He asked.

Kakashi's eye closed, and a sigh escaped his lips. This wasn't gonna be pretty.

"So it has." Came Isau's cold repllied. Naruto shook his head as if this was a dream he was witnessing.

Did this masked man, this lacky for Orochimaru just admit to being Isau? That wasn't right! Sure, Isau was a cold, calculating individual, but he was loyal, he was in love with that Yuni Shinobi. Shizuka something! This is all wrong. Naruto's thoughts began to come out into the open. "How dare you imitate Isau!" He said, pointing an accusing finger at the imposter.

Both Itachi and Isau's eyes were now on Naruto.

"Isau was a good shinobi!" Naruto reinforced, his confidence wavering ever so slightly under the scrutinizing glares of the two feared Uchiha.

Isau's gaze moved from Naruto to Kakashi, almost as if he were asking the man what the hell Naruto was on about, but he received only a harsh stare from his former mentor. His attention slowly turned back to Naruto. "It seems you've been mislead." His voice was darker than Naruto remembered it being, it held a near empty steeliness to it, almost as if he didn't care who he was talking to, but he'd kill whoever it was without hesitation.

Naruto's brow furrowed as he glanced back and forth from Isau to Kakashi, then to Sasuke, he just realized that his own team mates didn't seemed surprised by the revelation. They knew!

"Naruto." Sasuke's chiding tone interrupted Naruto's thoughts. "This conversation is gonna have to wait."

"How professional of you." Isau mused, giving his other cousin a quick glance before turning his attention back to Itachi.

"No! We're having this conversation now!" Naruto rose to his feat, and stomped toward Isau. "I don't believe you!" He accused with his finger poking the missing nin's chest. "Everything Mukei's done, the Isau I knew would never anything like that!"

"Naruto!" Kakashi's reprimanding exclamation was ignored completely.

Isau turned to Itachi. "Excuse me for a moment." Itachi simply nodded. Isau turned toward Naruto, lifting up his mask to reveal his face to his former comrade. "Like I said, you've been mislead." The mask slid down over his face, leaving Naruto incredibly shocked at what he'd just seen...

Naruto suddenly became lightheaded. So this was Isau. This was that silent, strong boy that Naruto met all those years ago, the boy who jumped in front of a speeding kunai to save his friend, the boy who single handedly took out the mysterious gas mask wearing shinobi after they had all been beaten, the boy who used to help Naruto with his taijutsu when nobody else would take the time out of their schedule. The only person to ever acknowledge Naruto's true strength, and the boy who selflessly sacrificed his soul to save Sasuke's. This is what he turned into? The murderer of entire clans, kidnapping helpless children, and utterly obliterating any ninja that even came close to Oto? He was conspiring and even working together with the man who killed Sandiame Hokage-sama?Was this the same person? He didn't want to believe it.

Naruto's shocked expression suddenly distorted as Isau's hand clasped around Naruto's neck, squeezing the very life out of him. "Now, if we're done here..." he commented dully, tossing the boy to the ground beside him. He then turned back to Itachi. "My apologies."

Naruto stared up at the two Uchiha who seemed to just have a casual conversation, completely in shock at what was transpiring, what had just transpired. This wasn't right... "It seems as though you're severely weakened." Naruto heard Isau say, shaking the blonde out of his brief respite.

"I'm not surprised that you noticed." Itachi replied cooly, his emotionless face revealing absolutely nothing. "You were always a shrewd one."

"Then you know without a doubt that you're no match for me." Isau replied.

"True, but I'm only here to slow you down." The Akatsuki member replied as a matter of factly.

Isau frowned. "A shadow clone." He guessed. Itachi's chakra was low, almost as low as a Genin's was.

"Not quite, but you may think of it as such."

"So, if I'm correct in my assumption, you are unable to use your Mangekyou." Isau said.

Itachi glared at the younger boy, and if he was capable of showing his feelings, Itachi would be rather shocked. The existence of the Mangekyou was kept a closely guarded secret. But, the more that the older Uchiha thought about it, the more he realized that it was probably only natural for Isau to have awakened that power by now, he was unnaturally strong, and, Itachi surmised that someday very soon, Isau would even surpass him in knowledge and strategy, seeing as his raw power and collection of Jutsu already surpassed Itachi's own. "Indeed." Itachi answered.

"Then step aside." Isau ordered. "I already know where your little base is, and I care nothing for the Kazekage's life. Your intervention means little to me." Isau stated irritably. "Extract the Biju, I don't care. I'll still kill you all."

At that revelation, Naruto couldn't help but grind his teeth together. The nerve of this guy! Betraying the Leaf Village, and now spewing about how Gaara meant nothing to him. Naruto was there when Isau challenged Gaara to protect Sakura and Sasuke, he was there when Gaara broke down and changed his ways, he was even there when Gaara shook Isau's hand in comradery! Isau had once had a goal to protect those he loved, his friends and his family, and now he was willing to throw Gaara's life away for what? Orochimaru? "You bastard!" Naruto couldn't help himself any longer, he was shaking in anger at Isau's words. "How dare you say something like that! Gaara risked his life to bring you home after you betrayed us all! And now you want to throw it away?!" Naruto yelled.

Isau slowly turned to face Naruto, sense of complete annoyance flooded his thoughts. He knew Naruto was a loud mouth, and would question his motives, but he was hoping to avoid that. Oh well. "You forget, Naruto, I did this to save your friend." Isau replied calmly, motioning over to Sasuke. "And now, my soul is gone, it belongs to a devil somewhere in Hell. I don't care about Gaara's sacrifice, and I no longer care about you or Sasuke either. I live for myself, to kill and become more powerful. You're meaningless words don't affect me." Isau finished, he was sincerely hoping Naruto would just drop it already so he could actually get on with killing some Akatsuki members.

Naruto growled angrily. "Liar!" He shouted. "Team 7 was our family! You even said it yourself!"

"That was before I found the true point of life. I live for myself, not to protect weaklings like you. I live to destroy the weak. There is no place in this world for weakness, only the strong will flourish."

"You... you _monster_..." Naruto stated through gritted teeth, his body shaking in anger.

Isau's eyes narrowed. "That's enough, Naruto, the big boys are talking now, so if you value your life, shut your mouth" Isau warned in a low voice.

Kakashi stood up at this point and stepped in front of Naruto. "This ends here." He stated in a deadly tone. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you more, but I won't let this end in anybody's death, except yours should you choose to follow this path." Kakashi added.

Isau smirked."Looks as if you're not needed, Itachi." Isau mused at Kakashi's challenge.

"So it would seem."

"Yurei." Isau called to his partner. "We don't have enough power to take these guys out, and the two Akatsuki." He explained. Yurei nodded stoically, his attention still on Sasuke, who was just as angry, if not more so than Naruto.

"Maybe if we're lucky, These Konoha misfits will take them out for us." Yurei stated factually.

Isau nodded in agreement. "If you think you're going anywhere, you must be kidding yourself!" Naruto exclaimed, pulling out a kunai for emphasis. "You're coming home today whether you like it or not!"

"Still chasing dreams." Isau commented idly. "Naruto, You should turn and walk away. Death is the only thing you'll gain if you challenge me."

Naruto chuckled confidently. "I'm not that stupid little kid anymore. I'm a lot stronger now, and I'll kick your ass all the way back to Konoha if I have to!"

Isau stared at Naruto through his mask, contemplating his next move. He couldn't kill Naruto in a million years, he wouldn't let himself, he had an appearance to keep up with Yurei being present, he couldn't let Orochimaru find out his plans. But he could take the annoying blonde out of the fight... He formed a ram seal, and suddenly the grin on Naruto's face was gone, replaced by a look of pure agony as the Blonde dropped to a knee and screamed. The black seals on Naruto's body were glowing a dull immediately went too Naruto's aid, and Sasuke jumped into action, an angry scowl adorning his face.

The Uchiha threw a kunai at Yurei, who simply dodged, and with speeds that were faster than the masked ghost was expecting, made his way over to Isau, his kunai drawn and aimed for his neck. Instantly, Isau's chokuto was drawn and blocking Sasuke's attack. Sasuke smirked arrogantly. "Wrong block." Suddenly, the kunai lit up in lightning style.

Isau merely smirked arrogantly behind his mask. "Chidori? Is that all?" He berated.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Isau's chokuto glowed a dull blue, and Sasuke's chidori infused kunai was being blocked. His eyes widened. "I'm surprised, Sasuke. Here, Itachi is in front of you, and you attack me." Isau taunted.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. "I'm not a stupid little kid anymore either."

"Prove it." Isau broke the lock and sliced at Sasuke's mid. Sasuke jumped backward to avoid. Isau smirked, and sheathed his sword.

"I'm expecting you to kill some Akatsuki members, fighting me would only lead to your death, and you're still useful... for the moment."

Sasuke growled. "You're twisted." He stated. "The Isau i know would never have hurt Naruto like you did. It's clear that you've grown into a monster. If not for him, I would kill you here and now, but I'll settle with beating the arrogance out of you."

Isau's eyebrow rose in amusement from behind his mask. "Is that so."

Sasuke smirked in his typical high strung manner. "Most definitely."

"Hn." Was Isau's only reply.

Sasuke lunged forward once again, only to have his kunai blocked almost instantly. He frowned. He was one of the fastest Jonin in Konoha, no way Isau was that much faster than him. Sasuke spun around, his kunai still locked with Isau's blade, and shot a deadly elbow at the latter's neck. It was instantly blocked by Isau's open palm, and Isau pushed Sasuke's elbow backward, and broke the lock of their blades, swinging his chukoto at Sasuke's back. Sasuke performed a back flip and narrowly avoided being bisected. He landed a few feet away and instantly charged Isau. He threw the kunai at his fellow Uchiha, and instantly began rummaging through hand seals. "Katon: Gokakkyu no Jutsu!" A giant flaming ball shot out of Sasuke's mouth right at Isau. But, as quickly as it appeared, it suddenly disappeared almost into thin air leaving Sasuke confused. But then, he saw it.

Isau's eyes, they were different. They had morphed into something that Sasuke couldn't describe. His pupil was a bright red, with three rounded spikes of the same color surrounding them, the rest of his eye was a pitch black, save a strange design that circled the Pupil, the same blood red. "Nakatsukuni." He heard Isau mouth, and then the nuke-nin shot forward.

Sasuke had little time to analyze Isau's eyes, and immediately prepared for a defense. But then, he disappeared just like the fireball. Sasuke's eyes widened. What was this jutsu? Was it a genjutsu?Sasuke was hit with a powerful fist, seemingly from out of nowhere, and went flying. He managed to gain his balance before colliding with the ground, only to see Isau suddenly reappear right where Sasuke had been previously standing. Sasuke growled. This jutsu would be hard to counter. Isau suddenly reached up and removed the mask from his face, and then the air around the Uchiha distorted, almost as if a vacuum was sucking everything into his left eye. The mask distorted and the eye sucked it up. Sasuke's frown deepened. Just how strong had Isau become? What kind of jutsu did he have in his arsenal? Isau then began to whiz through hand seals at an alarming rate, leaving Sasuke stunned at the sheer speed. His Sharingan only caught the last half, and they ended with the tiger seal. A Fire Style Jutsu. "Katon: Hiryu no Jutsu."

Suddenly, the air around Isau began to heat up at a quick rate, and a small line of flames began to circle him, until they grew bigger and bigger, taking form of a large dragon made completely of fire, flying in a circle around him about twenty feet in circumference. "Nakatsukuni."

Sasuke's eyes widened. That Jutsu again. The Dragon shot out toward Sasuke, and just as the Uchiha had expected, the dragon disappeared. Sasuke held a defensive position, ready for anything. This dragon could pop out from anywhere and catch Sasuke unaware. "Chidori Eiso!" Sasuke brought up his two fingers, and a blade of lightning shot out toward Isau. The latter easily dodged, by jumping backward. Sasuke instantly knew it was coming. Directly to his left, the fire dragon emerged. Sasuke pushed a large amount of chakra through his legs, and burst backward, the fire dragon hot on his tail. Sasuke repeated his Chidori Eiso, and sliced through the dragon, only for it to reform and continue chasing him. It then disappeared again. Sasuke immediately came to a halt, hypothesizing that it would come from behind him this time. Sasuke shot forward, and the fire dragon emerged again from behind him, just a moment too late. And Sasuke noticed something odd as he watched the dragon chase him. Where it reappeared, there was a thin ring of blue chakra surrounding the width of the dragon, something he'd only be able to see with his Sharingan. It was some sort of space-time ninjutsu, or at least that's the conclusion that Sasuke came to. If he could find the next hole, he could counter Isau's jutsu. Sasuke stopped his running, and turned to face the dragon, the sound of a thousand chirping birds emanating from his palm. He slammed the jutsu into the dragon, and it erupted in an explosion that would make Deidara proud.

Isau's eyes narrowed. He caught a glimpse of Sasuke flying out of the smoke, virtually unharmed save for a few burns on his clothing. Isau frowned. Sasuke had proven to be better than he anticipated. Isau glanced back to Kakashi, the scarecrow min was still trying to analyze the seal Isau had put on Naruto. His frown deepened. Sooner or later Kakashi would realize that only Jiraya or Tsunade could remove that seal, not even _he_ could remove it, and he was it's creator, and he would jump in the fight. That would make things much harder unless Yurei joined in. The ghost simply stood by, almost as if he were waiting to be summoned to the battle. If Kakashi did jump in, Yurei would have to take Sasuke, there was no way the ghost could take Kakashi one on one. After all, the Copy Nin Kakashi wasn't legendary for nothing.

During Isau's quick analyzing of the scene, Sasuke had managed to land and rush at Isau, with speeds that were incredibly impressive, without a Sharingan, Isau would have probably missed the movement completely. Sasuke's Chidori was flying at him, and Isau had little time to react. But he wasn't a genius for nothing. Sasuke's powerful jutsu was just inches away from piercing Isau's chest, but at the last second, Isau leaned back, Matrix status, reached up and grabbed the raven haired boy's exposed wrist, and yanked him down, raising his foot in the same instance, landing a shattering kick to Sasuke's stomach, sending the boy flying backward. Isau flipped backward to finish his movement, only to notice that Kakashi had finally decided to join in.

Isau cursed. The copy nin swung a kunai in a reverse grip at Isau, his hitai ate raised to reveal Sharingan no Kakashi's spinning copy wheel. Isau grabbed Kakashi's wrist, blocking the strike, and punched at the man's face. Kakashi simply moved his head to the side, avoiding the punch. But, he didn't see the kunai suddenly fly out of Isau's sleeve, backhand grip. Isau plunged the knife into the back of Kakashi's spine, and he disappeared with a poof.

Of course it was a shadow clone, why wouldn't it be? This man was always cautious. Isau whipped out his chokuto and blocked a swipe from Sasuke. Isau glanced over to Yurei, or, at least to where he was. Good, he joined the fight. With a few half seals, a static pulse erupted from Isau's center, pushing Sasuke away. Yurei would pick up where that left off.

Isau immediately began his search for Kakashi. But, his search was cut short by a howling battle cry coming from the sky.

The pink haired Kunoichi joined Kakashi. Isau had no idea how strong she was, so he jumped backward from a downward punch aimed at his head. He immediately regretted not jumping back further. The ground erupted in a shattering impact, and Isau was forced to regain his balance to counteract falling to the cursed. Kakashi suddenly came out of nowhere, his Raikiri dancing in his palm, as Isau regained his balance, and frowned. Again, the reality around the boy suddenly turned into a vacuum, and Isau was gone before Kakashi could land the blow. He reentered the world, this time right behind the pinkette kunoichi.

He grabbed the girl from behind and held his chokuto to her throat. She gasped in surprise, and Isau saw Kakashi's eyes narrow. He could kill her, but that would get him nowhere. she was probably a valuable asset to Team Kakashi, her strength was obviously the product of Tsunade-hime's training, so she was most likely a medic too. The more he actually thought about it, he recognized her finally. She was his replacement during the Chuunin exams. A small smirk crept on his lips, she _was_ Tsunade-hime's apprentice.

Isau opted to knock her out of the fight. Or at least that was the plan, but suddenly found himself on the receiving end of several kunai. That old bag. Isau was forced to spin around and block the kunai with his sword, only to find that all he had accomplished was to alter their direction. The looped around and came at him again. Isau ground his teeth. She was manipulating them using chakra strings. He'd be damned if he was taken out by an old dinosaur with kunai.

Isau used his full speed Shunshin no Jutsu to reach the old lady in less that a tenth of a second. He sliced the old bag in two instantly. The poof of smoke and the falling log chopped in two told Isau he'd failed in even killing an old lady.

Isau spun around to counter a slash from Kakashi. He parried the blow and stabbed at the scarecrow, barely missing his old teacher's side. And then the kunoichi came out of nowhere to his side. Isau growled and swiped at Kakashi once more, spun around and caught the pinkette in mid air by her throat and slammed her into the ground at his full strength. She found herself lodged in the ground, dizzy.

Isau was done messing around now. He formed a single half seal, and suddenly the air around him came alive in a blue tinted energy, emanating from the ground and storing itself within Isau. "Seiton."

Kakashi's eyes widened. He knew this technique, he watched Isau develop it as a boy, and Kakashi had even learned how to emulate it. Gathering the static electricity from all around him, boosting all of his movements substantially. But gathering as much as Isau was and this fast was absolutely insane. The kid was fast as it was, probably faster than Sasuke, or even Guy, and now, he would be even faster, much much faster. Kakashi frowned behind his mask. "Chiyo-sama, stay back, I'll handle it from here." Kakashi said.

She simply nodded, taking in all she could about Isau's jutsu. Isau instantly blinked out of existence in a flash of blue light.

Kakashi had absolutely no time to react when Isau landed a punch to his chin, so powerful it would make Tsunade proud. The Copy Nin went flying. The scarecrow hit a tree, blowing through it and skidded to a halt on the ground. Immediately he felt the aftershock of the Seiton. He was paralyzed. Kakashi frowned. Now Sasuke would inevitably be defeated.

The Uchiha prodigy was suddenly in front of Kakashi, chokuto just millimeters away from the copy nin's throat. Kakashi was surprised. The sheer speed of this jutsu... it was like watching the Raikage in his Raiton armor. Kakashi couldn't even catch the movements with the Sharingan. It had never been this fast when he was still developing it. He'd probably perfected it by now. And this was being done by a boy no older than 16...

That Kakashi had trained no less...

The Copy Nin had previously thought that entering this battle, he would have an advantage, having trained the boy for years, pointing out the flaws and weaknesses in his jutsu. But in just three short years, Isau had become even stronger than Kakashi. That was a feat...

The boy used to move with fluidity and grace, his taijutsu almost flawless. He only ever relied on ninjutsu for a last resort, unless it had been seiton, which only enhanced his taijutsu. But, _this_ Isau was whipping out jutsu left and right. Space time jutsu, katon jutsu, and even fuinjutsu. Just how far had he come? Did Orochimaru really teach him such dangerous techniques?

Kakashi shook his mind of those thoughts. Right now, he had a sword at his neck, and he had to somehow get rid of it. Kakashi furrowed his brow. "You've stooped so low." He said, his voice thick in disappointment. "To attack your comrades. Your friends..."

"You misunderstand." Isau stated coldly. "You are no longer my comrade. You are my enemy. Konohagakure no Sato was never my home."

"Home is where your family and friends are. Naruto..."

"My family is dead, and as far as friends go, I have no need for such petty attachments." Isau cut in coldly.

"I see you've already gained your cursed power. Who'd you kill to get it?" Kakashi asked angrily. "Was it _her_?"

Isau's eyes widened in pure rage, his teeth clenched. He stepped roughly on the copy nin's throat. "How _dare_ you!" He mouthed in a low, dangerous tone that made even the copy cat ninja flinch. The amount of killer intent emanating from the boy was most intense. "Perhaps it was your forsaken village that corrupted me. I sacrifice my life for Sasuke, and you brand me a missing min. A traitor, wanted dead or alive. Tell me, _Kakashi_," He pressed his foot harder on his old mentor's throat for emphasis. "Did you even look for me? Or is it the same old' story with your _Senju_ Hokage? Segregation of my people, orders to destroy them and alienating the last of them. Perhaps, _sensei_, the Uchiha are meant to destroy Konoha, because mark my words, I will destroy it down to the last child." He spat, venom dripping off of his tongue. "If it wasn't for Itachi, the Uchiha would rule your damned village."

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi asked in a confused voice.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Isau taunted. "Uchiha Itachi's heroics? The betrayal of the Uchiha? Danzo's orders to murder my clan? Of course It's probably covered up under legalities and mountains of paperwork that Tsunade probably hasn't even uncovered the truth. Although, that _Senju_ would probably smile and promote Danzo for his actions." He finished.

"W...what?"Kakashi asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. "The Uchiha clan's destruction was... ordered?" He repeated. "T...that's impossible... Danzo-sama doesn't have that authority..."

"Danzo doesn't need the authority." Isau stated. "All he needs is a motive and someone to do his dirty work." The boy added, his foot pressing even harder. A smile crept on his face. "Isn't that right, Itachi?"

Kakashi managed to tilt his head enough to see the former ANBU standing behind Isau, his typical stoicism revealing nothing of what he thought. "You're well informed for a missing min." Itachi stated evenly.

His words made Kakashi flinch. Itachi wasn't denying this...

"Don't forget who I live with." Isau replied.

Itachi's eyes closed in thought. "Indeed, Orochimaru-sama has been a hindrance to my plans for quite some time."

"This... is a lie..." Kakashi managed to say.

Itachi's eyes opened. "Forgive my overzealous cousin, Kakashi-san, he has an agenda of his own, after all." Isau narrowed his eyes at Itachi. "You do know there's nothing you can do about this. It's in the past. What's done is done." Itachi mused.

"I wouldn't expect someone so disconnected from honor to understand, Itachi." Isau replied, disgust dripping off of his tongue.

"Indeed." Itachi simply said. "So the question remains, what do you plan to do with Kakashi-san? Surely you know I can't let you just up and kill him, knowing who I truly am, I would protect him over your interests."

"You're very much correct. But I can use him as a pawn in my little game of hide and seek." He paused, giving Itachi a steely, serious look. "I'm looking for _him_, and you'll tell me where he is, or I'll snap Kakashi's neck." Isau threatened.

Itachi blinked slowly, rather unfazed at Isau's threat. "Don't you think that if I knew, I would tell you? After all, we want the same thing when it comes to that man." Itachi was silently hoping to keep Isau from ever finding out anything about _that man_...

Kakasi couldn't help but question who that man was... Why did Isau have such a deep seeded hatred for him? "I suppose that makes sense." Isau relented, removing his foot from Kakashi's throat. "But, if you do happen to find out where he is, I'll give you a little tip on the snake's current location." Isau offered.

"So willing to betray your own master?" Itachi asked. "He's a vile creature, his death would mean the beginning of my vengeance. Sooner or later, I'll kill him. But I can offer you that option, after all Akatsuki probably want to pry out as much information as they could. The locations of certain... _people_ are of great interest to him." Isau stated in his most alluring of voices.

Itachi's eyes narrowed for just a split second.

Isau inwardly smirked. Hook line, sinker.

In just a few sentences, circumstances suddenly changed. If by certain people, Isau meant his father, then a certain masked Uchiha hidden within Akatsuki would no doubt search relentlessly for that body. Itachi inwardly sighed at having to get Isau involved. "In that case, I will take you up on your offer." he replied evenly. "He's hiding within the lower ranks of Akatsuki. He wears an orange mask now, and goes by the alias 'Tobi.'" Itachi explained.

Isau's anger grew. The true murderer of their clan, Uchiha Madara. He would destroy Madara as a bonus, after killing Orochimaru. Thus ending his servitude with the snake sannin. If all went well, his personal assassination mission would take less than a month, and he could finally return home, and destroy Danzo. Then all loose ends would be tied up. The death of his parents would be avenged, Itachi would be a hero in Konoha, and Isau would return right along side him. The Uchiha name would be redeemed in the eyes of Konoha, and they would be able to start fresh. If all went perfectly.

Isau knew for a fact that Itachi knew of this plan. Itachi was a genius, even more so that Isau, if he hadn't caught on to his little charade by now, then the man didn't live up to his reputation. He had purposely planted the idea in Kakashi's head that perhaps Danzo was the one behind the Uchiha Massacre, the copy nin would hopefully dig a little deeper, and uncover the evidence, saving Isau the trouble of doing so.

"I feel as though I must warn you though. Tobi has powers that make even your Kamui look harmless." Itachi said. "He would kill even me without so much effort."

Isau's eyes narrowed. Tobi was really that powerful... If so, Isau needed help. Itachi was the first in line to see this man die so perhaps..."Then perhaps we find ourselves on a similar page. Itachi, the enemy of my enemy." Isau replied.

Itachi closed his eyes again thoughtfully. "Hn. Smart decision, Isau, enemy of my enemy."

"Then I guess I should tell you, Orochimaru is a dead man. In a few weeks, he won't be able to stand, he needs to switch bodies quickly." Isau revealed.

"So, you really don't have attachments to Orochimaru-sama." Itachi surmised. "He wants the eyes of the Uchiha." He warned.

"And he'll get them. The full power of the Mangekyou Sharingan." Isau stated dangerously.

Itachi then realized that he'd just been beaten at his own game. Isau managed to pry information about Madara from him by offering him the locations of Orochimaru's location, using the body of Uchiha Souran as a hostage piece in his game, playing the part of Orochimaru's slayer with a bigger agenda. Itachi played into it like a fool, and now that he told Isau of Tobi, he couldn't let the boy go in alone to face Uchiha Madara. He would need all the help he could get, all the while Isau already had Orochimaru's death so intricately planned out. Itachi couldn't help but feel proud of Isau for going such lengths for Konoha. Killing Orochimaru under Tsunade's orders, and even outing Danzo for the fraud he was, and protecting Konoha from Uchiha Madara's wrath. Isau would be a world renowned hero if he could accomplish these feats, and even redeem the Uchiha honor. If Itachi could smirk, he would have. "Hn. Then find me when the deed is done." Itachi stated as he turned around and began to walk away. "Bring Sasuke with you."

He then paused, and turned back to Kakashi for a brief moment, almost as if he had forgotten something. "Ninja are encouraged to look underneath the underneath." He stated almost in a taunting tone, leaving Kakashi slightly confused. Then, the Uchiha murderer disappeared in a flock of ravens.

Kakashi found himself thinking, the gears in his head spinning madly. What was it that he just witnessed? An alliance between two missing nin? The murderer of the Uchiha clan, and the son of the Prodigal Uchiha? An alliance like that was dangerous beyond measure. Isau had proven himself stronger than an average jonin, and even more so than A Ranked jonin like Kakashi, and Itachi was an S Ranked criminal. Their alliance was bad for Konoha, _very_ bad. The two of them could probably kill even the likes of Jiraya of the Sannin. Kakashi had to report this!

But then he stopped. Look underneath the underneath... that's shat Itachi had said. If what Isau said was true, and the destruction of the Uchiha was ordered by Danzo, then Itachi was technically a loyal shinobi for obeying. Itachi would be able to come home. Danzo would be outed, and Itachi would be a hero. Kakashi gathered that Uchiha Fugaku had planned to act against Konoha in some way, and the copy nin had to admit, a coup executed by the late Uchiha would be incredibly detrimental to Konoha, outside nations would attack and Konoha would be destroyed, so Danzo's actions weren't unwarranted, but, if the Hokage had known about it, Sarutobi Hiruzen would definitely find a peaceful solution. Hell, Itachi probably had a good chance at becoming Godiame Hokage. But, instead, the former ANBU was a traitor.

Kakashi vowed to uncover the truth. He owed at least that much to Obito...

"By the look on your face, I assume you've figured it out." Isau mused.

Kakashi frowned. Only one missing piece of the puzzle. "Who is this Tobi?" He asked.

Isau chuckled darkly. "It's none of your concern, sensei. He will be dealt with."

"I see." Kakashi answered thoughtfully. "So what happens after you take care of this Tobi?"

Isau shrugged. "I haven't given it much thought." He answered in an almost irritated tone.

"If Konoha is your next target, just know, we'll be ready for you." Kakashi stated in a hard voice, determined and strong despite being defeated.

Isau practically rolled his eyes at the notion. "If I ever decide to destroy Konoha, nothing can prepare you for my judgment. What you saw, Kakashi, was a fraction of my true strength. After I dispose of your team, I'll proceed to destroy two Akatsuki members by myself. I can't be defeated by the likes of you and Sasuke." Isau stated arrogantly, his eyes trained on Kakashi's, his look of self importance and utter confidence reminding the copy nin of Sasuke. 'Well, they are related...' He mused. But, the copy min found himself smiling behind his mask.

Who knew Isau was such a talker? He must have missed talking when he left for Orochimaru, surely the snake and Isau didn't sit and have conversations... but nevertheless, the talking was good for Kakashi. He was slowly gaining a few of his motor functions back, and his chakra was almost flowing normally. But, he didn't need motor functions to execute his plans. Just the right moment...

An explosion detonated a little ways away, causing Isau to turn his head to survey the battle from beyond the treeline. And Kakashi instantly acted. "Kamui!"

Isau's head snapped back to Kakashi, only to find himself feeling the familiar pull of a Kamui sucking him into another dimension. He acted too late, and he was suddenly in the void of Kakashi's Kamui.

Isau huffed. How irritating. Though, it was a smart plan if Isau didn't know the technique himself.

Isau's Mangekyou activated, and the vacuum of space distorted his vision, and sucked him into Isau's void, and then again back into the real world, right back where he stood before, noting Kakashi's gasp and look of pure shock. Isau glared at Kakashi, that left eye of his... he'd managed to activate the Mangekyou... But how? Who did he kill?

"Kamui is only effective against those who don't know the technique." Isau explained. "What else can you do with that eye?" Isau asked, practically challenging Kakashi to show him.

Kakashi's shock wore off quickly. It did make sense, Kamui only working on those that didn't know it... Or at least couldn't shift between dimensions. The scarecrow frowned.

"Or is that all. A one trick pony." Isau taunted. "If you'd like, I can show you the true power of the Mangekyou Sharingan, from the most powerful fire techniques to the most devastating genjutsu, and an impenetrable defense." Isau said, taunting Kakashi further. "So, how about it, _sensei_? Or do you want to keep playing _Uchiha_ with that stolen eye of yours?"

The man's eyes narrowed. "I'll take my chances." Kakashi answered.

Isau frowned. "I have the right mind to rip that eye out of your head. You disgrace my clan by having that eye. The Mangekyou is reserved for the elite. You are not elite."

"Maybe not. But if being elite means turning out like you, then I'm glad I'm not." Kakashi berated.

Isau frowned, and his glare found Kakashi's eyes once again, only to be met with steely determination. "I'd rather not have to face you again, so prepare to say your last words." He stated darkly.

Kakashi frowned. Was he serious? Did Isau really intend to kill him? Was this it? Was he really going to die to a former student? How ironic...

How ironic that the boy Kakashi took in out of his own free will, his own good graces would betray him like that.

Kakashi remembered seeing the boy for the first time. It was back when Kakashi was in ANBU, he was dispatched by Sandiame-sama to protect the last two Uchiha. Isau and Sasuke after the massacre. Sasuke had been in a state of utter shock, not responding to any sort of treatment, but Isau, well, he had a look in his eyes, a look that Kakashi knew all too well. It was sorrow. Emptiness. Kakashi didn't know the extent of Isau's and Itachi's relationship, but the man could tell that the sorrow was not for Sasuke, nor was it for Itachi. In fact, the man couldn't figure out what Isau had been so devoid of emotion about.

And then, Kakashi found himself shocked. The boy looked directly at him, a cold, piercing gaze on him. Kakashi was ANBU, he was hidden in the shadows, only detectable by high ranking jonin and Sandiame-sama himself, and yet, this boy had seen him. It intrigued Kakashi greatly. So, on his free time, he tailed the boy. At the time, he was only six years old, having just entered the academy just months earlier. Kakashi pulled the boy's files, and noted that he was already in a graduating class. Six years old and a graduate. Just like Kakashi himself.

Kakashi sat in the shadows during one of the many sparing matches that Iruka would hold, and analyzed this boy's skills. He was far beyond anybody in that graduating class of kids almost six years older than him. He handled these older academy students with grace and precision almost unheard of at this kid's age. And that's when Kakashi noticed it. The boy's Sharingan. Six years old, and this kid already wielded the Sharingan! Kakashi had made his decision. After the death of one of the Copy Nin's best friend's entire clan, he owed Obito at least that much, to train the last of his people with the knowledge and the power that was rightfully theirs.

And so he did.

He was granted tutelage over Uchiha Isau. Kakashi trained the boy to the best of his abilities, putting him through the chunin Exams at the age of nine. The kid wiped the floor with all of his competitors, winning the final round undisputed. Kakashi continued to train the boy, and three years later, Sandiame-sama ordered Kakashi to take a full team and train them, noting the wonders he had done for Isau. Of course, Kakashi personally requested Sasuke, who was at the top of his class, and Naruto, who was his old sensei's son.

The whole time Kakashi had trained Isau, the copy nin noted that that was all they did. Train, and go on missions. Isau had never once opened up to him, rebutting Kakashi's prompts to bond. This boy was a machine, and that's all he was. Technically the perfect Shinobi... but Kakashi craved camaraderie. It wasn't until Naruto showed up that Isau had started to open up.

Kakashi put all three of them through the bell test. Isau had managed to get both bells after watching Kakashi completely humiliate Sasuke and Naruto. But when asked who he was going to give the bells to, Isau stated simply that he was going to keep both of them. He said that he didn't want a team, he wanted to work with Kakashi and that was all, much to Sasuke's shock... after all, the two were cousins, they lived together. Isau went on to say that the two genin would only hold him back, and he wasn't about to demote himself to doing D rank missions.

Kakashi was actually torn on his final decision. Isau was already a chunin, putting him through the test should have gotten the expected results that Kakashi had been looking for. After all, what good was a team if they couldn't work together? It wasn't like Kakashi could send Isau back to the academy. The boy would simply leave the team, and begin his career doing solo missions, or even leading a team of chunin.

And then Naruto perked up. He yelled and screamed at the boy, telling him how arrogant and stubborn he was. It was surprising actually, everybody that Isau had come across was somehow intimidated by him. The boy had that presence that said 'mess with me, I double dare you.' But, not Naruto. Isau had even been shocked. Nobody ever talked to him like that. Even within the clan when it was still around, people addressed him with sama, and generally avoided him. Naruto went on to explain the importance of friends and family, the need and the want to protect someone close to them... Kakashi noted that Isau had become intrigued. So he relented, and gave both Naruto and Sasuke the bells, saying he wanted to see what Naruto was talking about.

And, the boy got a taste first hand.

Their first C Ranked mission had been granted to them. Escort a master Bridge Builder back to his country in Nami no Kuni. The mission played out very steadily until Kakashi was attacked by the Demon Brothers of Kirigakure. Of course, Kakashi's death had been staged, and even Isau knew that, but the real trouble came when the missing nin Mumochi Zabuza showed up.

He trapped Kakashi in a water prison, and the two genin and Isau were forced to take on Zabuza. It was then that Isau had admitted to feeling fear for his team. He jumped in front of a slash meant for Naruto, and saved the boy's life. Isau suffered an almost fatal gash.

After recovering, at least enough to walk, the missing nin had attacked again, this time with a comrade. Isau was at way less than full strength, and was forced to hold off Zabuza's accomplice. Haku had trapped both Sasuke and Naruto in his crystal ice mirrors, and had taken down Sasuke. To what extent, Isau had no idea of. But then, after hearing the anguished yells from Naruto, Isau assumed that Sasuke had died. He went berzerk, right along side Naruto.

The Jinchuuriki punched Haku out of his own jutsu, and Isau followed up quickly, not taking a single breath, and killed the young boy, turning his attention to Zabuza. He rushed the missing nin, and almost took him out with Kakashi's help. But, Zabuza had proven to be too much for Isau, and the boy found himself on the receiving end of Zabuza's Kubikiribocho for the second time. Though, it wasn't as fatal as the first, but it was enough to knock the boy out of the fight.

Kakashi had seen Isau smile for the first time in six years when Naruto explained that Sasuke was alive once Isau had woken up.

It was theirs second C Rank mission where Isau had totally shocked Kakashi to the very core. Their mission was a simple escort mission. An ambassador from Konoha was to go to Yugakure no Sato, and discuss the higher tax rates of trade with the Yunikage himself.

Of course, it was just a cover mission. Kakashi also had an A Rank mission at the same time. The "Ambassador" was really a spy from Yugakure, bearing valuable information for the Yunikage from a source. Kakashi's mission was to protect the man at all costs. The cover was necessary unfortunately, but a simple escort mission from Konoha to Yuni should prove to be enough to deter any ninja wondering if this man was a spy. No genin team was sent on A rank missions. The added protection of a genin squad from Yugakure was added by request of the Yunikage.

The Jonin Sensei, Dokouse and his team, Team 13: Gurasu Akihiro, Akamatsu Issatsu, and Yukiko Shizuka.

Kakashi watched the interaction between the kids very intently. Naruto and Shizuka were practically identical in personality, although, Shizuka seemed to have a level head... Sasuke and Akihiro seemed to hit it off decently enough, but Sasuke was a loner, and Akihiro was a book worm... Issatsu had gotten along with everybody. This kid was like Isau meets Naruto, having Naruto's sense of humor, and Isau's stoicism to a degree.

It was Shizuka who had really surprised Kakashi, she had smacked Isau, hard for stating something about useless genin. Kakashi remembered the boy fall to his butt, and stare at Shizuka in confusion and shock. She stood over him, with death itself practically rolling off of her. She threatened him to say it again to her face, and Isau was flabbergasted. She hadn't talked to him for the rest of the day, until that night, Isau went to her house to apologize personally.

Kakashi couldn't trail him that night, but Isau returned in the morning with a most content look on his face, and an aura of utter calm.

It was the first time Kakashi had ever seen Isau so... calm. It wasn't calm as in standing still and stoic, no, it was as if the boy was truly at peace.

Kakashi's perverted mind instantly came up with a reason, but unfortunately Naruto had noticed and asked where he had been.

Apparently, he and Shizuka had talked throughout the night, until she fell asleep with her head on his lap. Isau said that he simply watched her sleep. Of course, Isau wouldn't budge on what they had actually talked about, but Kakashi had a feeling that Isau had finally told someone about his life, gotten the feelings out in the open.

It was shocking, really. Isau trusted someone enough to do that. Kakashi had spent six years trying to pry that information out of Isau, and the boy simply shot him down every time. But, this girl had instantly gotten it out of him.

Hormones is what Kakashi chalked it up to. Isau would forget about her when this mission was over.

The Yugakure genin and their Jonin sensei was to escort this ambassador back to Konoha with Team 7, and that's when everything went wrong. They were attacked by a rogue ninja. An S Rank criminal who's actual identity was completely unknown.

They called him Joki no Shinobi. The ninja of the fog.

Long, black, oily hair, tattered robes, and a giant gauntlet on his left arm, and his face hidden by a giant gas mask. Kakashi and Dokouse attacked and managed to fend him off, when another one of this man popped out of the forest, seemingly just as powerful as the first and attacked the genin. Kakashi had instantly put Isau in charge, and ordered him to protect the genin and the ambassador. Isau did so to the best of his ability. He fought the fog ninja with all he was worth, but the man's gauntlet was dipped in poison. Isau found himself unable to protect anybody, and then, the unthinkable happened.

The fog nin rushed Shizuka. Just her, ignored all of the other genin, and attacked her. Isau snapped, and stopped the man's approach, taking the brunt of his blow for Shizuka. Isau was impaled by the man's gauntlet, gripping it tightly right in front of Shizuka, a scowel on his face as he glared defiantly into Joki no Shinobi's face. The man had laughed and congratulated Isau. His quick reactions and thinking had saved her life. The man went on to say that he wanted to see Isau's limits, the limits of the Uchiha clan, and so he targeted the most important person to Isau. This man was so shrewd that he noticed before he attacked, the looks and glances Isau would give to Shizuka, and the looks she returned. He said that Love was a powerful emotion, but only the fear of losing that love could push someone passed their limits.

Kakashi had just finished up with the first fog ninja, before looking over and noting that Isau was impaled in the abdomen by the second one. It seemed like instantly, Sasuke was the one to act first, out of complete anguish and absolute anger. It prompted Naruto to join the fight, his demonic chakra leaking out. Kakashi had to stop it.

He and Dokouse defeated the second fog ninja with some effort. Their victory was in question, simply because Joki no Shinobi had disappeared after a few blows from the two Jonin.

The sight before them had driven the two experienced jonin to look away in sorrow. Shizuka was crying softly, holding onto Isau's limp hand, her head buried in his chest. He had saved her life, and he didn't have to... He twiched, and that's when they realized that Isau was still alive.

Dokouse instantly called upon his ninja summon, the dead dragon, to transport both he and Isau back to Konoha as fast as possible. The whole trip back, Kakashi was stuck with two groups of genin that had their heads low in sorrow. They made it back to Konoha, and the spy reported to the Hokage and disappeared back into the network. Both teams went to the hospital.

Isau had been stabilized, the poison removed, but he had a lot of recovering ahead of him.

The Yugakure team left, with the exception of Shizuka. She stayed by Isau's side for the entire time, training with Team 7 for the upcoming chunin exams.

Isau had awoken just three days before the exams took place. Kakashi noted that Isau had smiled for the second time in his existence when he noticed Shizuka sitting to his side. Kakashi ushered Sasuke and Naruto out of the room.

Isau was still bed ridden for the first two exams, but was rooting for both of his teams to pass. Team 7 had recruited a privately trained genin to take the exams with them. A medic nin trained by Tsunade-hime herself. Haruno Sakura. Isau was excited to see her in action at the finals.

Two weeks into the month training for the finals, Isau was allowed to walk around for few hours a day, and during those two hours, he spent all of his time with Shizuka. Kakashi was busy training Sasuke, so he didn't get too see the bond they'd developed until after the finals.

Kakashi was impressed with all of the Yugakure genin, that was for sure. They wiped the floor at the finals. Akihiro fought an Oto genin, and completely obliterated him in one punch. Shizuka had fought Neji, and toyed with him before knocking him out. Issatsu had a long battle with Rock Lee, proving to be faster than him, and more versed. Issatsu ended up winning.

Kakashi's team had done well as well, Sakura had managed to outsmart Temari and beat her with her overpowered punches, and Naruto, who had trained with Jiraya, had shown the most improvement. The Sannin had worked miracles on the blonde idiot. Naruto whipped Kankuro after a drawn out battle.

It was during Sasuke's match against Gaara when everything went wrong. Orochimaru attacked, and the Sand as well.

It was Isau who instantly found his way to the bunker where Shizuka and their team was, only to find out they had gone after Gaara right behind Sasuke.

Despite warnings from Kakashi, Isau left to find them. He found Sasuke fighting Gaara, but no Team 13...

Isau fought Gaara, almost killing himself for over exerting himself. Then, Naruto came and took care of the rest.

Isau left again to find them. And what he found shocked him to his core.

That same ninja... Juki no Shinobi was standing over Akihiro, who was on the floor, knocked out, bleeding out of a massive wound that Juki had inflicted with a simple two by four. Shizuka and Issatsu were nowhere to be found. Isau questioned the fog nin, but the man just attacked.

Isau held his own for a while until the most unlikely hero stepped in, Maito Guy... The Green Beast of Prey had been enough to hold Juki off.

Isau performed a sweep, and recruited as many genin as he could to find the missing genin.

No avail.

It was then that Kakashi told Isau that they had probably been killed during the commotion.

Isau went haywire.

That night, he packed his things and set off for Otogakure. He was going to kill every single one of them. Naruto found him first, and stopped him. It was the second time that Isau had opened up to anybody. He told Naruto that after everything that had happened to him. Witnessing his parent's death along side his baby brother, Itachi's betrayal and witnessing him murder their family, Team 7 had become his family, and Team 13 as well. He admitted to being in love with Shizuka, and said that without her, he didn't want to live. Naruto somehow managed to change Isau's mind, and Kakashi noted that Naruto had a very good knack for that...

Everything was going well, until Sasuke's cursed mark began acting up. Naruto had left with Jiraya to seek out Tsunade-hime.

And Itachi attacked.

Isau hadn't heard anything about it until it was over and done with, and Kakashi was put on bed-rest.

Sasuke began hating again, and challenged Naruto to a fight. Kakashi and Jiraya managed to stop them from killing each other, but Kakashi knew that something was wrong with Sasuke. And then, just like that, Sasuke left.

It was then that Isau left right after him, tailing him.

The retrieval team was made, and Shikamaru led it, to Kakashi, it seemed like Isau left to find Sasuke without telling anybody. Kakashi waited for a few hours, and could wait no longer. He and Guy set off to find their genin.

Upon arriving at the scene, Kakashi noted that the entire valley of the end had been obliterated with the exception of the statues. Sasuke was sitting crossed legged next to Naruto, who was unconscious. Sasuke had a far away look on his face as he looked down at Naruto. Kakashi instantly made his way over to him, and upon asking Sasuke what happened, Sasuke simply muttered that he was sorry. Sorry for leaving, and sorry for putting everyone through this...

That's all he could get out of Sasuke that day. The next day, Sasuke explained what happened. Isau showed up and exploded on Sasuke. The Uchiha heir said that it was the scariest thing he'd ever seen. Isau had Sasuke pinned against the mountain by the throat, screaming in his face, things about how Sasuke didn't know what true pain was and that he was arrogant, stupid, and a whole arsenal of names. And then, after Isau cooled off, he glared right at his cousin and told him that if he ever caught him anywhere near Otogakure, he would kill him without hesitation. Then he left for the Sound.

For the first few months, it was assumed that Isau had been killed by Orochimaru, but not long after he left, rumors surfaced about a masked ninja under Orochimaru's control that was committing doing his dirty work. It wasn't long after that they figured out it was Isau.

Tsunade branded him a missing nin, wanted dead or alive. Naruto had left to train with Jiraya, Sakura stayed and trained with Tsunade, eventually even making chunin, and Sasuke had stayed a part of Team Kakashi. Sasuke was promoted to jonin a year after Isau had left, and then to the ANBU Black Ops a year later. Sasuke never spoke of Isau, or what he thought of the situation, but Kakashi knew that it nagged at the boy every day...

Kakashi had to admit that it nagged it him as well. He kept thinking, how could a boy who was just learning how to live suddenly turn into this monster? Was it because Kakashi wasn't fast enough to stop Isau from making his decision? Was it that Kakashi wasn't a good enough surrogate parent? Or was it really the villages fault...

If what Isau was saying, then Kakashi felt that Isau was completely justified in his anger and vendetta... "I'm sorry." Kakashi finally replied in a sad tone. "For all the pain you've been through. Sorry that we couldn't save you..."

Isau's eyebrow rose. Where was this sudden regret coming from? "And now, I'm supposed to break down and forgive the village because you're sorry." Isau deadpanned.

Kakashi found himself chuckling. "It's a shame things had to turn out this way. You are by far my most accomplished student. Your space time jutsu are even better than mine, more applicable that Yondiame-sama's." He praised. "I just wish things went differently... Maybe in another life you won't be cursed."

"Perhaps." Isau answered in an even tone.

Kakashi smiled sadly. "I do have a last request." He said. "And what's that?"

"Sasuke is happy. He doesn't need to hate something out of his control. Just... keep him out of this." Stated the copy nin.

"Hn. Fine." Isau answered.

"So I guess this is it.."

Isau raised his chokuto. "Goodbye, sensei."

A snapping of a twig was heard right behind Isau.

"Rasengan!"

Isau smirked There it is...

The boy spun around and met the technique head on. Naruto's hand slammed into Isau's chest' and the Uchiha smirked arrogantly. "What's wrong, Naruto, can't form chakra correctly?" He taunted. Naruto's Rasengan barely managed to scrape Isau's skin.

Naruto growled. It was true, he had no control over his chakra. He struggled to even form his signature move.

"Although, I must say, I'm surprised that you could even form chakra in your current state." Naruto's anger peaked. That damn seal was messing with his chakra. He felt like he had been training for hours, no chakra available to him at all. Isau then reached up and gripped Naruto's wrist, still connected with Isau's chest. Naruto yanked back, and found himself unable to break through the vice grip. Isau dropped his sword and formed two half seals. "Gogyo Fuin" Isau's fingers lit up in a deep purple chakra, and he slammed his hand into Naruto's stomach, causing the boy to double over in pain. Naruto instantly felt his chakra system go haywire.

'_Damn_...' Naruto thought. '_That same seal that Orochimaru used on me in the Chuunin Exams!_' Isau let go of Naruto's wrist, allowing the boy to drop to his knees. Naruto was defeated. Isau looked down on the boy, pitying him. So weak... "If you'll excuse me, I have business to take care of." Isau sneered, turning back to face Kakashi.

Isau frowned. Kakashi was gone. The paralasis wore off. Isau looked around for a moment. Kakashi was bound to come from somewhere... Perhaps this was their retreat? Hopefully... He'd already wasted so much time here.

The sound of a thousand birds suddenly caught Isau's ears. Above!

Kakashi came screaming down, his left hand gripping his right wrist, a raikiri pulsing in his hand. He came fast, Isau had little time to dodge, if any. 'Damn it!' He thought, he would have to meet this threat. Instantly, his own chidori formed in his palm, and he thrust upward, meeting Kakashi's Raikiri with his Chidori. The moment they connected, an explosion ensued, blowing both ninja backward. Isau managed to flip and skid to a halt on his feet, noting that Kakashi had done the same. Neither were harmed, but their chakra had taken a dip. Though, Isau's reserves were much larger than Kakashi's, and he knew that. Kakashi was already feeling the repercussions, breathing heavily, and Isau had even broken a sweat. He frowned. Kakashi was giving him a harder time than he anticipated. Well, he wasn't practically legendary for nothing...

Another explosion erupted from behind Isau. Yurei was probably having a hard time with Sasuke as well... It was time to draw this fight into the open. Isau jumped backward, right over Naruto and out into the clearing. Jumping back a few more paces, Isau saw Yurei holding off both Sasuke and Sakura. His movements were speedy, and Sasuke found it hard to even hit the ghost. Every attack slipped right through him, leaving a trail of black, almost like Yurei was made of smoke. Lady Chiyo was studying Yurei like she had done Isau earlier. Isau turned his head back to the forest, and with three hand seals, he brought his fingers up to his mouth. "Katon: Gokakkyu no Jutsu!" The fireball engulfed a few trees, continuing inward until it finally detonated. Hopefully that would keep Kakashi busy. Isau spun around and leapt at Sasuke. The Uchiha turned his head just in time to dodge Isau's balled fist. Isau used the momentum from the missed punch to spin and catch Sasuke with his elbow right in the face. The Uchiha stumbled backward, and immediately snapped back for a retaliation. Sasuke thrust his kunai at Isau, and the boy simply dodged it. Isau looked behind Sasuke and noted that Yurei had Sakura pinned.

Isau smirked. "It's over, Sasuke." Isau stated. Sasuke's normally even face suddenly became angered. He was helpless. Sure, he could keep fighting Isau, but this guy would kill Sakura.

Sasuke just couldn't have that...

Where the hell was that dobe when he needed him?!

"It seems as though we have somewhat of a standoff here."

Isau cocked his head in the direction he heard the voice. That old fossil, Chiyo was it?

"And how do you figure that?" Isau asked, almost cautiously. The old lady smirked.

"That seal you're standing on." She stated simply.

Isau's yes narrowed. He looked down, and sure enough, there was a seal on the ground beneath him. He frowned. This old lady was pretty smart. The seal pattern and formula pointed to only one algorithm. A chakra parasite seal. If she activated it, the seal would cause Isau's chakra to turn against him, slowly eating away at his chakra coils, resulting in a detonation of Isau's entire chakra system. "So we are." Isau conceded. He lowered his weapon and glared at the old lady. Her hands were up in a rat seal, just waiting to activate it. Any quick movements on Isau's part would end up bad. He wasn't even sure he could Kamui his way out of this. Yurei held Sakura hostage, and Chiyo held him hostage. It was a standoff that was heavily in the Konoha nin's favor. If Isau died, Yurei would surely die shortly after. He had to make an escape somehow. "I concede." He stated. "Surely you know that killing me will only bring down the wrath of Orochimaru on Suna. After all, I am his most prized future host." Isau added, using his position to try and get ahold of the situation.

The old lady laughed heartily. "That ol' pervert is still trying to get his hands on the Sharingan?!"

Isau shook his head. This was getting nowhere, it was obvious that this lady was senile... Perhaps if he could just get her in a genjutsu...

As soon as the thought entered Isau's mind, he found Sasuke's kunai at his neck. Isau glared at his cousin. Figures, Sasuke wouldn't let him do it. In fact, the mutation from Sharingan to Mangekyou would probably alert Chiyo, and she would activate the seal. Kamui and Nakatsukuni were out of the question at this point. Moments later, Isau heard footsteps behind him. Kakashi and Naruto. This situation had spiraled out of control because of one variable. Lady Chiyo. "So, what happens now?" Isau asked.

"We take you back to Konoha, that's what happens." Sasuke replied dangerously.

Isau chuckled. "I'd sooner die than go back to that place." He said in a low, ironic tone. The gears in his mind were spinning madly. How can he get out of this!? If he were to be captured and taken back to Konoha without completing his mission, he'd probably be seen as a traitor, and would be tried as such. He'd turn out just like Itachi!

Sasuke's knife pressed against Isau's neck. "It looks like we have that option." He stated coldly.

"No! Sasuke don't!" Naruto pleaded. Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, irritation clearly on his face. Isau looked around him. Chiyo's eyes were still on him, just waiting for a twitch in his muscles to activate the seal. Isau turned and looked into the distance. Akatsuki's hideout was less than a mile away, if Orochimaru's information was correct. He'd wasted so much time here already. Only because he didn't want Naruto fighting Akatsuki, nor Sasuke come to think of it... And now, he was about to be dragged back to Konoha. Naruto was glaring at Isau, but there was a glint in his eyes, a glint of sorrow, of longing... Isau shook his head. He couldn't let Naruto get to him right now... Suddenly, an idea came to his head. Naruto! He silently thanked the genin for speaking out. He turned back to Chiyo. "We truly do have a standoff." He stated in a smug voice. Chiyo's eyes narrowed. Before she could act, Isau's hands were in a ram seal. "Activate it, and Naruto dies." He warned.

She glanced over to the boy. She'd completely forgotten about the seal he placed on him. She cursed under her breath.

"Isau... Don't do anything stupid..." Kakashi mouthed, stepping just an inch forward.

"You've left me no choice. She activates that seal, I'll kill Naruto, Yurei will kill Sakura and undoubtedly escape anyways. You succeed in only killing me and trading my life for Naruto's. The balance of power will be shifted, and Akatsuki will be pissed." Isau said, his voice a bit more tense than usual. "So, how about it, how do we want this to go?" Isau glared at Chiyo, who looked back and forth between Naruto and Sakura, contemplation clearly defined on her face. Finally, she dropped her hands. Isau instantly moved away from the seal. "As much as I'd love for this reunion to continue, I have Akatsuki that need to be killed." Isau stated. He motioned for Yurei to drop Sakura, and he did.

"So that's it... You're just gonna leave?" Sasuke asked, almost dumbfounded.

Isau nodded. His plan had worked anyways. Kakashi was second guessing the massacre, Naruto was out of Akatsuki's clutches, and Kakashi was too drained to fight Akatsuki. If they continued their mission, it would be Sasuke, Sakura and Chiyo fighting S Ranked criminals. "Yes, I am." He stated.

"What about Gaara!" Naruto blurted out.

"What about him?" He asked. "He's probably already dead." Isau finished in an uncaring voice, though, he was probably correct in his assumption, he couldn't let his sorrow show.

Naruto ground his teeth together at the charade. "And you don't even care?!" He yelled. "What about everything we went through! Gaara is one of our friends! He helped us try and save you! And you don't even care?!"

Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Enough, Naruto..."

Naruto shook Kakashi's hand off. "No! That's bullshit! I refuse to believe that Isau has turned into this... this... monster! The Isau I know would have switched places with Gaara in a heartbeat! He would do anything in his power to save a friend!"

Isau looked at Naruto, the air thick with tension. A look of contemplation crossed the Uchiha's features, but left as soon as it came. "Perhaps, Naruto, I am doing all of this for a friend." He said. He then turned and grabbed Yurei's shoulder, and the distortion from his eye came back.

Naruto jumped. "WE'RE NOT DONE HERE!" He yelled.

But It was too late. Isau and Yurei were gone. Naruto stumbled forward, just missing them, and fell to all fours. He pounded his fist into the ground as hard as he could manage, cursing his chakra system failing on him. How could he let him leave like that?! Three years of searching, using all of Jiraya's spy's to try and locate him, and then when he finally finds him, he learns that Isau had turned into a monster, and refused to go back with them! How! How could he just let him leave?! "Damn it!" Naruto yelled, plowing his fist into the ground again. How could Isau not even explain himself?! Naruto was sure that they deserved at least that much! After everything they'd been through, Isau just looks at them like dirt. Even worse than when they were kids! He even tried to kill Kakashi-sensei! The Isau Naruto knew wouldn't lay a single hand on Kakashi in any threatening manner! "Come on, Naruto." He heard Sasuke say to him. The blonde shook his head. It was just unbelievable. How could someone change like that so much?!

"What happened to him?" He asked. Naruto heard Kakashi sigh.

"He's become tainted by Orochimaru." Kakashi explained. "I'm sure that at one point in time, Orochimaru threatened to use us against him. So Isau probably cut his ties to us in order to save us. But, in doing so, he sold his soul."

Naruto's head shook again. Why did he think that they always needed saving? Naruto and Sasuke could handle that snake pervert! What was he trying to prove?! "Then we just need to kill that snake bastard!" Naruto resolved.

Kakashi sighed again. "Naruto, it's not that easy..." Naruto grunted.

"I'm bringing him back to the village even if I have to drag him kicking and screaming!"

"That's fine, Naruto, but for now, we have to get you back to the village." Kakashi stated. He didn't feel like arguing with Naruto right now. "I'm pretty much drained, so I'll go with you." He said. "Sasuke, Sakura, accompany Lady Chiyo and make sure nothing happens to her. Do not engage Isau and Yurei if you don't have to. Your mission is to retrieve Gaara and that's all." Kakashi instructed. Sasuke simply nodded, while Sakura gave Kakashi a "Hai, Sensei." Kakashi reached down to pull Naruto to his feet. "Come on. We have quite a ways to go." Naruto reluctantly stood up.

* * *

**Let me know what you guys think so far. Most chapters won't actually be this long, but this is kind of the opening act, so to speak. I decided to start out in Shippuden, simply because everything major that will change about the Naruto series with my own OC's included will happen during this time period, I felt it unnecessary to completely rewrite the first few arcs, because the only major thing that's changed was my removal of Sakura from Team 7, and the new addition, however, at the beginning of each chapter, I will be putting little snippets of conversations or scenes that will have happened before the time skip. They won't really coincide with any timeline per se, but it will explain some of the major scenes that may be missing. I've only added one arc that happened right after the Zabuza arc and in between the Chuunin Exam arc which I will actually write out in detail, rather than just explaining it in a character's point of view, and it was simply to introduce the Hot Springs Village's main characters. **

**I'm gonna try and not make the original characters OC at all, with the exception of Sasuke, though, he'll still act the same, he's just not gonna be a whiny little asshole throughout my story. I think that's where my inspiration to write this actually came from lol. Let me know how I'm doing on that front please. :)**

**And just to be safe, Isau's name is pronounced ee-sou, like sour. Yurei is your-ee, Mukei is Mook-eye. **

**Any reviews are greatly appreciated, though I realize that these types of stories aren't too popular, I hope some people read it and enjoy it. Any comments or even suggestions would be really cool. I have the next three chapters written, and they're currently going through a proofing/editing stage at the moment, I'll try and update twice a week. **


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